ON PEER STATUS AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL …

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF

Leliyan Radhwan Salim, Masters of Science, School Psychology presented on March 28th 2017,

and The Effect of Skillstreaming Training on Peer Status and Social Skills in Preschool

Abstract approved: _______________________________________________________

The present study examined the effect of Skillstreaming training on peer status and social skills

in preschool-age children. Participants were twelve (n =12) children, ages three and four, who

regularly attended preschool in the Midwestern United States. The study examined the

Skillstreaming approach as an intervention to improve social skills and peer status. Participants

received training on seven skills over 14 days. Teachers and parents evaluated students using

checklists. The checklists measured social skills before and after training. To evaluate peer

status, students ranked their peers using a sociometric instrument. Researchers used a correlated

samples design to determine significance. Results showed a statistically significant increase in

social skills after training as measured by the Skillstreaming training checklist. After training,

participants showed a statistically significant increase in peer status as measured by the

sociometric instrument.

Key words: Skillstreaming, social, skills, modeling, roleplay, preschool, sociometrics

THE EFFECT OF SKILLSTREAMING® TRAINING

ON PEER STATUS AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL

_________

A Thesis

Presented to

the Department of Psychology

EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

__________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

__________

by

Leliyan Radhwan Salim

May 2017

ii

________________________________________________

Approved by the Department Chair

________________________________________________

Approved by the Dean of the Graduate School and Distance Education

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor, and thesis chair, Dr. James Persinger, for his

efforts in completing this project. I appreciate the support through my years of study at

Emporia State University. He has always steered me in the right direction.

I would also like to thank the committee members, Dr. Carol Daniels and Dr.

John Wade, for their encouragement. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to

my friend Rebecca Wilkes. Thank you to my brothers and friends for their love and

encouragement.

Thank you.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv

List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi

List of Figures……………………………………………………………………...…… vii

CHAPTER ONE LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................... 1

Importance of Social Skills and Social Competence .............................................. 3

Effects of Social Skills on Peer Interactions and Child Development .................... 4

Social Skill Acquisition .......................................................................................... 6

Social Statues and Sociometrics. .......................................................................... 12

Foundational Studies ............................................................................................. 15

Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 18

CHAPTER TWO METHOD ............................................................................................ 20

Participants ............................................................................................................ 20

Materials ............................................................................................................... 20

Procedure .............................................................................................................. 23

Design ................................................................................................................... 25

Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 25

CHAPTER THREE RESULTS ........................................................................................ 27

Hypothesis 1.......................................................................................................... 27

Hypothesis 2.......................................................................................................... 27

Hypothesis 3.......................................................................................................... 28

CHAPTER FOUR DISCUSSION .................................................................................... 34

Hypothesis One ..................................................................................................... 34

Hypotheses Two and Three .................................................................................. 36

Limitations: ........................................................................................................... 39

Direction for future researchers: ........................................................................... 40

References ......................................................................................................................... 41

APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 51

Appendix A - Consent Form for Parents .............................................................. 52

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Appendix B -Consent Form for Teachers ............................................................. 53

Appendix C - Skillstreaming Checklists Parents .................................................. 54

Appendix D - Skillstreaming Checklists Teachers .............................................. 59

Appendix E - An Instrument for Children’s Peer - Faces Scales ....................... 64

Appendix F - An Instrument for Children’s Peer - Data Collection Sheet .......... 65

Appendix G - Samples of Skillstreaming in Early Childhood Skills Cards ......... 66

Appendix H- Grouping Chart ............................................................................... 67

vi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 - SUMMARY OF PAIRED SAMPLES T-TEST RESULTS ......................... 32

Table 2 - Summary of Means and Standard Deviation of Hypotheses 1 - 3 .................... 33

vii

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1 SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING ...................................................................... 28

Figure 2 Peer Status .......................................................................................................... 30

Figure 3 Reading Others ................................................................................................... 31

THE EFFECT OF SKILLSTREAMING TRAINING ON PEER STATUS 1

AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL

CHAPTER ONE

LITERATURE REVIEW

“Schools are social and dynamic places. Learning, working, and playing are

highly social processes, and children who acquire and use skills that allow them to

interact effectively and avoid problems with peers and adults have advantages as learners,

workers, and players” (Elliott Frey, & Miller, 2002, p. 213). Social skills are a concept

that include many learned behaviors. These social skills share the goal of maintaining or

increasing reinforcement within a social context and improving students’ social lives. In

contrast, social competence is an evaluative term based on judgments, given certain

criteria, that an individual has adequately performed a social task. Social skills help an

individual perform a social task, while social competence represents social performance

with appropriate social attitudes. Social skills can affect students’ adjustment to school,

their future in advanced study, and their family life. “Social skills were viewed as

protective factors that reduce the negative effects of externalizing and internalizing

problem behaviors” (Gresham, et al., 2010, p. 354).

Social skills encourage cooperation and may reduce shyness. This enhances self-

esteem, helping students become more active in home and at school. It is important to

assess each student individually. One useful assessment in this domain is sociometrics.

“Sociometrics techniques are the measures of interpersonal attraction among the

members of a specified group” (Balda et al., 2005, p. 271). The purpose of sociometrics

is clarifying the status for peers, such as popular or unpopular. To evaluate this, a

sociometric instrument may be used to evaluate children's peer relationships and how

children perceive others within their peer group.

Running Head: The Effect of Skillstreaming in Preschool 2

In this regard, it is important to apply the difference between acquisitions versus

performance deficits. Acquisition deficits occur when skills are lacking in how to acquire

age-appropriate skills. Performance deficits happen when students know how to perform

skills and what they should do, but they do not know how to implement the skills. There

are three effective methods to acquire social skills. First, modeling focuses on imitation.

In fact, people learn many of their behaviors through modeling. Next, role-playing is a

strategy through which real-life situations are simulated in a protected environment. For

instance, a child assumes a role that exists at-home or in other contexts, then plays this

out in a role-play. Lastly, Skillstreaming is a strategy used to teach students with

behavioral problems new social skills, and help them cope.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Skillstreaming® training

on core social skills in children who are rejected. This research focuses on three areas of

potential growth. 1) The Skillstreaming program is effective for children between three

and four-years of age, 2) children will learn social skills and improve their social

standing, and 3) Skillstreaming training will improve student’s interactions with their

peers. The goal is to increase participants’ social skills. This will, in turn, make them

more active within their peer group, thus reducing the impact on possible behavioral

problems and maladaptivity. This chapter presents an overview of social skills, social

competence, childhood effects, and how children learn social skills that include

modeling, role-play, and the Skillstreaming approach to social skill development.

Hypotheses addressed by this study are also proposed.


Importance of Social Skills and Social Competence

“Social skills can be taught using approaches grounded on social (Bandura, 1977),

operant (Skinner, 1953), and cognitive behavior (Weissburg, 1985) learning theories”

(Elliott et al., 2002, p. 214). Social skills can enhance learning and are as important as

other skills which develop during preschool, such as cooperation and discipline (Grubbs

& Niemeyer, 1999; Odom, McConnell, & McEvoy, 1992). These skills are acquired

through behavioral learning, such that students learn from others. Teachers and parents

can teach social skills and work to improve them by using training. To be most effective,

these skills should be taught in preschool as protective factors against bullying and

aggression. Social skills effect social adaptation for students and can make them more

active and confident.

The utilization of social skills leads to the reduction of problem behavior. “For the

past quarter century, individual and small-group social skills training has been the

primary intervention used to address socialization and friendship problems of children in

school settings" (Merrell et al., p. 166). Social skill instruction includes the improvement

of students’ social relationships. This helps students to adjust to new individuals and then

influences their lives, not just with relationships at school, but at home too. Maag (2006)

suggested that one of the most important issues in teaching social skills is deciding

whether the behaviors targeted for change will enhance the quality of life of the

participants.

According to Miller and Johnson (1999), the training of social skills plays a role

in the increase of positive behaviors like dealing with peers and developing new

friendships. Gresham (1986) defines social competence as an evaluative term based on


judgments (given certain criteria) that an individual has performed a social task in an

adequate manner. Social skills help perform a social task, while social competence

represents social performance with appropriate social attitudes. Three criteria are used to

evaluate social competence. Per Gresham (1986), “Judgments of others on an

individual’s social behavior, and evaluations of social behavior depend on pre-established

criteria.” In other words, behavioral performance is relative to a normative standard

(Gresham, 1986).

Effects of Social Skills on Peer Interactions and Child Development

According to Gresham (2002), social skills are a set of competencies which help

to find and maintain positive social relationships and friendship development. They foster

school adjustment and allow students to adapt to the order of their social environment.

Socially competent students develop and maintain a social life through good

communication with others. This is established through self-confidence and minimal

negative social interactions. This often leads to easy friendships with others and a sense

of belonging and positively influences their academic life and adjustment (Gresham,

2002).

Good social skills and the application thereof can affect several dimensions of

childhood development. Research has shown that some of the most socially important

outcomes for children include peer acceptance, academic achievement and school,

teacher and parent acceptance (DiPerma & Elliott, 2002; Gresham, 2002; Gresham &

Elliott, 1990; Hersh & Walker, 1983; Newcomb et al., 1993; Parker & Asher, 1987;

Walker, Irvin, Noell, & Singer, 1992). In contrast, children who have a deficiency in


social skills are exposed to behavioral problems and poor adaption to the environment

and social statues (Parker & Asher, 1987).

Parker and Asher (1987) showed that children who struggle with peer

relationships often demonstrate a pattern of maladaptive behavior. These behaviors may

present as antisocial or aggressive actions as characterized by repeated school norm

violations. The abstention of intervention and assessment of social competence deficits

leads to maladjustment and the appearance of negative behaviors (Parker & Asher, 1987).

These may present as isolation, non-compliance, emotional disturbance, or violence

because of failure to make acceptable interactions with others. “In other words, these

competing problem behaviors have been known to function as academic disablers in that

they often cause decreases in academic achievement” (Gresham et al., 2010, p. 341).

These social competence deficits lead to short-term, intermediate, and long-term

difficulties in educational, psychosocial, and vocational domains of functioning

(Kupersmidt, Coie, & Dodge, 1990; Newcomb, Bukowski, & Pattee, 1993; Parker &

Asher, 1987).

“Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has been associated with students’ success

in school, including their social-emotional competence and academic success as well as

students’ attitudes, behavior, and overall school performance” (Zins et al., 2004, p. 322).

“Social skills training or social skills intervention is designed to remediate children's

social skills acquisition and performance deficits and to reduce or eliminate comparing

problems behaviors," and it “should be in every classroom” (Elliott et al., 2012, p. 71).

Research has demonstrated that SEL skills can be learned in the classroom (Elias,

Arnold, & Steiger Hussey, 2003). Many schools have applied this framework to


successfully integrate strategies and programs promoting social and emotional learning

into students’ typical school days (Greenberg et al., 2003). It thus appears that social

skills are not only vitally important academic enablers for children in schools but also

important in their lives. Elias (1987, as cited in Romasz, Kantor, & Elias, 2004) asserts

that providing positive socialization practices, support, and opportunities for youth

contributes to their protection when dealing with life’s challenges. Elias and colleagues

(1997) found there are four major domains of Social Emotional Learning: Life skills and

social competencies; Health promotion and problem prevention skills; Coping skills and

social support for transitions and crises; and Positive, contributory service (Elias, et al.,

1997).

Social Skill Acquisition

Acquisition versus performance deficits. Social skills are acquired through

observation and training. Once acquired, skills must be implemented. The question of

what happens to those who have poor social skills may be attributable to acquisition or

performance deficits. “These two types of deficits require different intervention

approaches and different settings, such as the general education classroom versus pull-out

situations that are indicated for different tiers of intervention” (Gresham, 2010, p. 341).

Acquisition deficits occur when students lack understanding and knowledge about

how to acquire skills at an acceptable level. To address acquisition deficits, a child must

first learn which skill is situation appropriate then learn how to perform the given skill.

This includes promoting skill acquisition through modeling, training and social problem

solving. A Social Skills Intervention Guide, from Elliot and Gresham (1992), offers three

procedures which address social skill deficits. These procedures are: modeling, coaching,


and behavioral rehearsal. Performance deficits occur when a student knows how to

perform skills and what they should do, but he or she does not know how to implement

the skills, or what they should to do in a situation. “Performance deficits are the failure to

perform a given social skill at acceptable levels even though the child knows how to

perform the social skill” (Gresham, 2010, p. 343). Performance deficits are treated by

increasing motivation or reducing performance problems. The purpose of this is to

increase the probability of making a certain skill occur by using techniques such as social

praise, feedback, pre-correction, and reinforcement.

In short, “Acquisition deficits reflect an absence of a skill and thus require direct

instructional strategies to teach the skill. Performance deficits reflect motivational deficits

and require procedures to increase the frequency of prosocial behavior and to decrease

the frequency of competing problem behaviors” (Gresham, 2010, p. 355).

Modeling. The modeling learning processes has three methods: observational,

inhibitory, and behavioral facilitation. Observational learning occurs when students have

not previously exhibited a behavior, observe others, then learn from their behavior.

Inhibitory and dis-inhibitory learning has effects when performed where modeling

represents a resource of inhibitory and dis-inhibitory effects. Modeling is important

because it can change learned behaviors (Bandura, 1971). For example, if a child

observes another child bullying peers without punishment, he or she may engage in

bullying behavior. Behavioral facilitation is any performance that has been learned

previous or as a result of negative reactions from others. For example, if a child likes a

game, his or her peers will play it too. Although modeling is a strong method of learning,

it does not always have a behavioral affect. For instance, a student may witness many


behaviors amongst his peers every day in school, but these behaviors do not attract

attention, so he does not imitate the behavior on his own. Owens and Ascione (1991) said

the process of learning can be effective by using three steps for modeling: attention,

watching the model; display model and frequency behavior, where students imitate social

actions of their peers; and the goal uses good model with desired behavior to achieve

prosocial behaviors (Owens & Ascione, 1991).

Role play. Role play is a learning strategy which simulates real-life situations. A

child assumes the role that exists in a real situation, and he or she interacts with others in

a realistic manner. The process of learning improves when a person has an opportunity to

practice a behavior and is encouraged to engage in the behavior through reinforcement.

Role-play helps students to change their behaviors. “The use of role-playing to help a

person change behavior or attitudes has been a popular and useful approach for many

years” (McGinnis, 2012, p. 31). This increases the probability of changing a behavior.

Role-playing has many steps: “(a) choice on the part of the trainee regarding whether to

take part in the role- play, (b) public commitment to the behavior, (c) improvisation in

enacting the role- played behaviors; and (d) reward, approval or reinforcement for

performing the behaviors” (McGinnis, 2012, p. 32). One important procedure of role-play

is having the role-player think aloud instead of silently. This way the role-player can help

students to focus on parts of skills and arrange skills throughout the process. Role-

playing works by focusing on as realistic of a role as possible. It works on a group, each

with a specific role. The main actor will work on behavioral steps and think aloud. The

co-actors are students who stay in the role of the other students. Finally, other students

are those who watch for the form of behavioral steps.


Skillstreaming. “Skillstreaming is a social skills program that is over 20 years

old. It began in 1973 as one of the very first approaches to social skills training”

(Timochko, 2010, p. 15). This strategy is used to teach social skills to students with

behavioral problems or those not able to connect with teachers or peers. This strategy

helps students cope with others. Its implementation in a training group requires the

teacher to lead a group of children. Usually, training takes 15 minutes for preschool

students. This training can apply to any social skill that needs improvement. It depends

on the principle of learning such as modeling, role-playing, feedback, and generalization

training. “This method of instruction involves defining the target skill, providing social

goals/motivation for using this skill, modeling, role-play, practice, and reinforcement”

(Seher, 2000, p. 69). It works to solve social problems for kids and helps them to become

satisfied with their relationship with others. It affects their feelings and helps to reduce

behavioral problems, stress, and loneliness. It is important to consider these skills

because they relate to children’s real-life situations, and it increases their self-esteem.

Overall, it improved the environment at school (McGinnis, 2012, p. 4).

“The Skillstreaming program treats identified behavioral deficits by modeling,

role-play, providing feedback, and encouraging generalization beyond the learning

environment” (Sheridan, 2006, p. 35). Bandura (1977) wrote that, when we model

something, we show others how to perform a task or how to behave in a specific manner.

One of the core teaching procedures focuses on imitation. In fact, people learn many of

their behaviors through modeling. “According to social learning theory, behavior is

learned symbolically through central processing of response information before it is


performed” (Bandura, 1977, p. 35). Most of children’s new behaviors can be explained

by modeling, such as interacting socially and helping others.

The Skillstreaming program also was designed with flexibility and “Guidelines

for altering and improving its procedures and materials” (McGinnis & Goldstein, 1997, p.

9). Every session of Skillstreaming has steps, and all core Skillstreaming procedures

include modeling, role-playing, and feedback, and all have the same eight steps: “Step 1:

Define the skills, Step 2: Model the skills, Step 3: Establish student skills need, Step 4:

Select the first role-player, Step 5: Set up the role-play, Step 6: Conduct the role-play,

Step 7: Provide performance feedback, Step 8: Select the next role-player” (McGinnis,

2012, p. 33).

Before starting to use Skillstreaming with a student, teachers should evaluate

which skills the student could benefit from most. A measurement scale, such as the

sociometric scale, may be used before and after Skillstreaming to contrast the resulting

skill growth. McGinnis and Goldstein (1990) say that Skillstreaming includes the

evaluation of a student to determine the level of skills they may need, instruction for the

students to learn the skills, then repeating the process of evaluation to determine the

response to the program.

Skillstreaming has four simple steps. “First, someone shows you what to do

(“Watch”). Then you try it (“Try it”). Someone tells you how well you did or what you

can do even better (“Listen”). Then you practice (“Practice”)” (McGinnis, 2013, p. 3).

Skillstreaming involves evaluating students for areas of need, placing them in groups

with other students similar to their level of social skill competence, instructing the


students on the skills they have not mastered, and evaluating the students again to check

for responses to the Skillstreaming program. (McGinnis & Goldstein, 1990).

Assessment of social skills. “Before social skills can be taught, school

psychologists and teachers need to know what skills to teach and which students might

need additional support” (Elliott, et al, p. 214). The assessment process is important for

issues in this area of study. There are many methods which contribute to social skill

assessment. Behavioral observations and archival school records may offer a

comprehensive picture of the student under evaluation. They provide useful information

about students’ social skills and make the assessment process clear. This increases focus

on skill deficits and acquisition.

Sociometrics are a useful tool in determining if a student needs to improve their

social skills. Gresham and Elliott (1990, 2008) built social validation into their

assessment instruments by having key informants (teachers and parents) rate the

importance and frequency of each social skill. According to Horner and Carr (1997),

using "functional behavioral assessment" helps to increase the standards for planning

interventions and decreases behavioral problems (Horner & Carr, 1997). As Gresham

(2002, p. 410) presented, social skills assessments can be conceptualized as taking place

in five major stages of the assessment/intervention sequence: (a) screening, (b)

classification, (c) target behavior selection, (d) functional assessment, and (e) evaluation

of intervention. These stages provide information about behavioral problems and social

skill levels.


Social Statues and Sociometrics.

Sociometric statuses. “Sociometric techniques are the measures of inter-personal

attraction among the members of a specified group. Three major types of sociometric

measures are nomination, paired comparison, and peer rating scale” (Balda et al., 2005, p.

271). The purpose of Sociometrics is to provide information about a child’s peer

relationships and their peer status. Peer nomination is a common method to identify

peers’ statues. The nomination method implies, “an imposed trichotomizing of the latent

individual affection dimension of each group member towards all the other group

members” (Maassen, et al., 1997, p. 192). “In the peer nomination method, in order to

obtain the liking and disliking scores of the students, students in the study group were

asked to make both positive and negative choices” (Baydik & Bakkaloğlu, 2009, p. 439).

Data is then assigned to categories.

Sociometric status has two dimensions: social preference, which includes

popular–rejected status; and social impact, or visibility which includes neglected-

controversial. There are the traditional categories of popular, rejected, average, neglected,

and controversial. Based on the standardized average rating, a person is classed as

popular, average, or rejected. Typical criteria are: (a) popular, those with a standard score

greater than 1, (b) rejected, those with a standard score less than-1, and (c) average, all

remaining persons (Terry & Coie, 1991; Parker & Asher, 1993). Coie (1982) defines

acceptance and rejection as the number of nominations registered for the positive and the

negative questions respectively. It goes on to assert that the two dimensions’ acceptance

and rejection should be used in the assessment process. According to Gronlund (1959),


most research has focused on rejection. This is seen in children who are not accepted by

their peers and may affect their ability to form additional relationships.

Rejected statuses appear in two categories of children aggressive-rejected, and

withdrawn-rejected. Rejected statuses regularly have negative effect. “There is

considerable evidence that peer rejection is associated with later difficulties such as

delinquency and school dropout; however, there is less evidence that childhood

popularity predicts later success” (Balda et al., 2005, p. 271). Rejected statuses will affect

adjustment problems. As Asher and Hymel (1981) suggested, there is little evidence that

children with low rates of interaction are at risk for adjustment problems later in life.

There has been interest in whether withdrawn-rejected or aggressive-rejected leads to

nonsocial behaviors, which will affect children later in their life. Rubin et al. (1998),

suggested that nonsocial behavior may place children at risk for maladjustment

difficulties in later childhood and adolescence.

Intervention is required to overcome the challenges of rejected peer status for

children in the later stages of their education. “In other words, the person must have the

skills to engage in positive, safe, health-protective and health-enhancing behavior

practices, and to build positive relationships with peers and adults” (Zins at el., 2000, p.

76). Interventions need to address the larger cognitive, interpersonal, and emotional

deficits associated with peer rejection and aggression. Bierman and associates (1993),

make the case that male students who are rejected show increased rates of hyperactivity,

verbal aggression, and attention-related issues.

Research has found a positive relationship between social skills and social

acceptance (Coie et al., 1982; Frederickson & Furnham, 2004; Ummanel, 2007; Warden


& Mackinnon, 2003): That social skills depend on two dimensions, “First, social skills

consist of both verbal and nonverbal behavior, Second behaviors considered to be

appropriate for one situation might not be appropriate for another” (Elliott et al., 2012, p.

56). Social skills also affect social status. For example, French and Waas (1985) showed

that students who were rejected by their peers have lower social skill levels compared to

their peers who were accepted.

Peer Status. There is a relationship between social skills and academic

performance; “Social skills matter in the social, emotional, and academic lives of

children” (Elliott et al., 2012, p. 223). The concept of academic enablers stems from the

work of researchers who explored the relationship between students’ nonacademic

behaviors (e.g. social skills and motivation) and academic achievement (Gresham &

Elliott, 1990; Malecki, 1998; Wentzel, 1993; Wigfield & Karpathian, 1991). Malecki and

Elliott (2002) reported that social skills correlated, r = .70, with end-of-year academic

achievement as measured by high-stakes testing. Gresham (2002) stated that social skills

are effective factors on the academic dimension in school where social status relates to

social competence. Thus, social competence is an indicator of school adjustment.

“Socialization and friendship problems of children reflect difficulty with or the failure of

a primary developmental task, and place children with these deficits at great risk for

many negative outcomes” (Merrell et al., 2008, p. 180).

Research suggests that young children who are socially competent enjoy school

more, have better academic performance, and are more likely to actively engage in

classroom learning activities (Ladd, 1990; Ladd & Kochenderfer, 1996; Vandell &

Hembree, 1994). “Peer relationship is another construct of social competence. The


present study investigated two forms of peer relationships-friendships and peer

acceptance. Friendship refers to a voluntary, dyadic relationship that is affective in

nature” (Howes & Lee, 2006).

Friendship skills. Friendships affect students’ relationships. “To the extent that

children’s friendships represent a unique component of their social milieu, it is important

to consider what processes may account for friendship formation” (Lindsey, 2002, p.

146). “Children who are able to make mutual friendships have been found to be better

liked by their peers” (Lindsey, 2002). Friendships enhance aspects of social development

amongst young children. Children are more interactive when they have friends. In

contrast, the inability to form lasting friendships may have a negative effect on students.

“Socialization and friendship problems of children reflect difficulty with or (the) failure

of a primary developmental task, and place children with these deficits at great risk for

many negative outcomes" (Merrell et al., 2008, p. 180).

Through friendship, children learn important skills such as cooperation,

helpfulness, and sharing. Some of these positive “…behaviors that are cooperative in

nature…usually include friendship, empathy, altruism, etc.” (Reber & Reber, 2001, p.

574). The influence of friendship is adaptive. Children who do not have friends have high

risk maladaptive outcomes. “It is well established that children who are poorly accepted

or rejected by peers, who have few friends, and who adjust poorly to schooling are at

much greater risk for lifelong maladaptive outcomes” (Elliott et al., 2012, p. 57).

Foundational Studies

A longitudinal study conducted by Lindsey (2002) investigated the link between

preschool children’s friendships, peer acceptance, and social competence. After


comparing aggression and peer competence, the study suggests that mutual friendship is

an important factor in children’s social development as early as preschool (ages three to

six) (Lindsey, 2002). Lack of relationships may lead to increased aggression. Analysis of

36 children followed over two years revealed that children with at least one mutual friend

during the first year, were liked more by peers a year later than children with no mutual

friends, even after controlling for children's year-one peer acceptance level. Thus,

children in preschool can make friendships with others regardless of whether they have a

mutual friend.

Another study investigated the effectiveness of the Skillstreaming program when

used as a short-term intervention with preschool children (Niehues, 2006). The study

examined 25 four-year-old children who were taught five skills through the

Skillstreaming program. All five skills indicated significant growth in level of mastery

(Niehues, 2006). This research showed the importance of social skills. Further, it showed

that it is possible to use this program to teach skills and for children to retain benefits.

Finally, a study by Lee (2007) examined social interaction with peers, peer

relationships, and socioemotional adjustment of 246 preschool aged children at Head

Start preschools. Lee (2007) examined how variations in experience salient to immigrant

families related to children's peer play and peer relationships in Head Start classrooms.

He explored the dynamics of peer interactions and relationships in classrooms of

immigrant children with varying degrees of ethnic diversity. Lee (2007) found that

parents reported that their children were more popular with their peers than others whose

parents did not receive the training. Although children did not show a preference for

peers of the same ethnicity, same-ethnic dyads as opposed to cross-ethnic dyads played


together more often and engaged in more complex play. Language and culture may have

been a factor for children being more interactive than others who came from another

region.

Children who were popular with peers and/or had more friends were more likely

to be rated by teachers as prosocial with peers and less likely to be rated as aggressive,

asocial, hyperactive, or excluded by peers. Here teachers play a role through encouraging

children to play or make friendships with peers through reinforcements, evaluation, or

rewards in front of peers. Social skills help children who need development in their social

life and that affects sociometric status. The purpose of implementing social skills

training is to develop students’ social lives. This will improve friendships among peers,

which will affect their behaviors and friendships both immediately and in future years.

In summary, social skills are multidimensional, interactive, and context specific

behaviors. Elliott et al. (2012) indicated that social skills can help to form relationships

with peers and improve friendships. They may improve the social environment for

students by making them more interactive with others, which may further influence

school outcomes.

The discussion in this chapter focused on how children acquire social skills and

how they may differ in performance. It also discussed which methods teachers can use in

training, modeling, and roleplaying. One of methods that offers information about peer

statuses is a sociometric instrument designed to assess social skills. “School

psychologists have central roles in using or supporting the use of social skills assessment

through administration of the assessment or supporting teachers and parents in

interpreting and understanding assessment results” (Elliott et al., 2002, p. 215).


According to Treuting (1992), age, verbal skills, and cognitive abilities all influence the

type of technique which can be successfully used for accurate assessment. Thus, the

crucial role of the early school environment in promoting social development that will

affect students’ social lives, help them adjust more easily, and reduce behavioral

problems like aggression. Using good social skills leads to a reduction in behavioral

problems which affect a child’s successful academic career and his or her life in general.

Also, its aim is to increase confidence in children.

This research is based on the book Skillstreaming in Early Childhood by

McGinnis (2012). The Skillstreaming checklist examines important social skills which

students need, whether in preschool or at home. It is easy for parents and teachers to use.

They do not need to use complicated instruments, which helps to save time. The purpose

is to determine which skills a child needs to improve. The training included seven lessons

for teaching children who needed to improve their social skills. These lessons included:

reading others, feeling left out, dealing with teasing, relaxing, knowing when to tell,

dealing with losing, and wanting to be first. Training took place over 14 days.

Hypotheses

From the aforementioned theories and research findings, the following hypotheses

were derived:

1. The Skillstreaming program is effective for children between three and four-

years of age. Adoption of these skills will enable individuals to interact with

others in a more adaptive manner

2. Skillstreaming training will influence rejected or ignored cases. These

children will learn social skills and improve their social standing. After


training, a previously rejected child will get a higher score than before

training. Thus, children who receive Skillstreaming training will score higher

on sociometric status.

3. Skillstreaming training will improve student’s interactions with their peers.

Training will improve skills related to playing. During training, children will

develop temporary friendships. As a result, those who receive Skillstreaming

training will rate higher on ‘reading others.’


CHAPTER TWO

METHOD

Social skills are multidimensional, interactive, and context specific behaviors that

affect many dimensions of children’s lives. Gresham (2002) defined social skills as “a set

of competencies that (a) help initiate and maintain positive social relationships, (b)

contribute to peer acceptance and friendship development, (c) result in satisfactory school

adjustment, and (d) allow individuals to cope with and adapt to the demands of the social

environment.” The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the Skillstreaming

training on the social skills of children who are rejected (less popular), as demonstrated

by lower level sociometric status. This study also aims to help children develop better

relationships with their peers, change their peer status by making friends, and help them

to deal well with adults.

Participants

Participants were twelve (n =12) children between the ages of three and four who

regularly attended preschool in the Midwestern United States. The genders were nearly

evenly distributed, seven girls and five boys. Participants regularly attended pre-school

five days per week, Monday through Friday throughout the 2016-2017 school year.

Materials

Consent forms were signed on behalf of students by a parent or guardian,

(Appendix A includes a copy of the consent form for parents). Teachers completed a

similar consent form (Appendix B contains a copy of the consent form for teachers).

Consent forms included details about the purpose of this study. It was also used as a

formal means to inform the teachers and parents that the study used a checklist for


teachers and parents to complete as part of the training program. Teachers and parents

were asked to use the checklists to gather information on participants (see Appendix A

and B). After training, each student was assigned a number to anonymize the data; the

results present as group data which contain no identifying information.

Skillstreaming Checklist. Examination of the first and third hypotheses depended

on the Skillstreaming Program. The program includes a teacher’s checklist (Appendix D)

and a parent’s checklist (Appendix C) consisting of a Likert-type scale of 40 social skills.

Instructions were attached to the checklist to explain to parents and teachers how to use

the tool. This was used for measuring the effectiveness for Skillstreaming training and

‘reading others’ skill scores.

The Skillstreaming system has been in use for 30 years. The authors state that

parents and teachers’ rating of these skills is a valid way of measuring social skills

(McGinnis, 2012). Two teachers can also each rate the same child and obtain similar

results (McGinnis, 2012), which is good inter-rater reliability.

Ogilvie (2008) used the Skillstreaming checklist to measure social skills for

middle school students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In this study, inter-

observer agreements measured the ratability; the overall agreement was 97.2%. A study

by Wight and Chapparo (2008) used the Skillstreaming checklist to investigate teacher

perceptions of the social abilities of primary school aged boys with learning difficulties.

They found correlations between types of participant (boys with and boys without a

learning disability) and subscales on the Teacher Skillstreaming Checklist in which there

were statistically significant results (Chapparo, 2008).


The study of Timochko (2010) used the Skillstreaming checklist to measure social

skills for students who have a language disability and students who do not have one. The

study indicated no significant difference between test, re-test scores for students or

teachers (Timochko, 2010). However, significance was found in several individual skills

taught throughout the treatment period. The study of Niehues (2006) used the

Skillstreaming checklist to determine if using Skillstreaming as a short-term intervention

was effective with children in an early childhood program. She found that for five of the

skills her study indicated there was significant growth in the level of mastery (Timochko,

2010).

Skillstreaming cards. The Skillstreaming in Early Childhood skills cards (see a

sample in Appendix G) are illustrated for non-readers and show the behavioral steps for

each skill that was taught. This was “designed for students use during Skillstreaming

sessions. Cards list the behavioral steps for each of the 40 early childhood and

kindergarten Skillstreaming skills” (McGinnis & Goldstein, 2003, p. 264). For example,

skill number 34 is “Be Honest”. There are three steps: think of what can happen, decide

to tell the truth, and say it. "Skillstreaming has a history and development going back to

the early 1970s where three psychological approaches were used to alter ineffective

behavior — psychodynamic, humanistic, and behavior modification" (Timochko, 2010,

p. 15).

Sociometric status instrument. The purpose of Sociometrics is to provide

information about a child’s peer relationships and their peer status. It is easy to use with

children. “Its techniques are the measures of inter-personal attraction among the members

of a specified group” (Balda et al., 2005, p. 271). The sociometric instrument shown in


Appendices D and E is a novel tool designed specifically for the examination of

hypothesis two. Appendix E is a faces scale, which is a non-verbal method of assessment

that uses a Likert scale of five faces. The scale goes from very sad to very happy.

Appendix F is a data collection sheet and summary form. Sociometrics have been

examined since the early 1980s. The resulting data suggests that peer nomination

procedures are a valid way of obtaining peer status. Baydik and Bakkaloğlu (2009)

examined the criterion validity of the peer rating method. They found a large correlation

(r = .61) between the peer ratings of students with special needs and those of a control

group. They concluded that the peer rating method was sufficient for obtaining peer

status. They also examined the reliability of this measure, and found that all correlation

coefficients were significant at the p<.001 significance level.

Procedure

Testing took place at a preschool center on the campus of a regional university.

The director of the center asked for parents’ participation during morning check- in. She

emailed parents who thought their children needed to improve their social skills. She then

distributed informed consent and parent’s checklist forms. The director and the teacher

arranged a time for training that worked with the children’s schedule. Participants

received training over a 14-day period. Skills to be trained were chosen once score sheets

were returned from parents and teachers. Researchers checked each child’s score and

computed the average. If a child’s score was three or less out of five, the student was

coded for training in that specific domain. Seven skills showed as needing the most work

for the majority of participants: readings others, feeling left out, dealing with teasing,

relaxing, knowing when to tell, dealing with losing, and wanting to be first.


Hypothesis One. Teachers and parents rated participating students on each skill

before training. The researcher then coached students using the Skillstreaming program.

Coaching included seven lessons for children who needed to improve social skills,

reading others; feeling left out; dealing with teasing; relaxing; knowing when to tell;

dealing with losing; and wanting to be first. The length of each lesson was seven minutes.

After training, teachers and parents rated the student on their performance of the social

skill.

Hypothesis Two. Students met individually with the researcher. The researcher

then introduced the face scale (Appendix E) and explained how to rate others using the

friendly faces. Using the questions in Appendix F, each participant rated each participant

on three metrics, ‘How would you feel if you played with this child?’; ‘How would you

feel if this child came to your birthday?’, and ‘How would you feel if this child spent the

night in your house?’ Participants responded using the faces scale.

Hypothesis Three. For ease of training, researchers divided twelve participants

into two groups of six, the ‘green apple’ and ‘red apple’ groups. During training, students

sat down in groups to receive training on cards with friendship related skills. The

researcher explained the first step was to look at the face, then discussed the possible

meanings for each facial expression e.g., smiling, clenching teeth. The researcher then

discussed the importance of understanding the facial expression. The researcher

explained the next step was to look at the body posture and discussed the meanings for

each expression e.g., making fits with hand, placing a hand on hips. The researcher then

discussed the importance of understanding the facial expression. Participants were shown

pictures of facial expressions or body posture and then asked to interpret the meaning.


Design

This study used a correlated, repeated measures design. This relied on ‘before’

and ‘after’ data from the teacher’s checklist, parent’s checklist, and the sociometric scale.

All participants were given a pre-test and a post-test. The purpose of this design was to

determine if the difference in scores may be attributable to Skillstreaming training.

Analysis then used a correlated t-test to determine the means and differences.

Data Analysis

Skillstreaming score. By using the grouping chart (Appendix H), each

participant’s score was tallied for the 40 skills. To calculate scores, the teacher and

parents scores were averaged in each domain. Participants received Skillstreaming

training in the seven lowest scoring domains. Domain scores were summed to calculate

total scores. For pre-and post-test, data ranged from 80 to 400. For statistical analysis,

means were compared using a correlated t-test.

Sociometrics scale. The summary form (Appendix F), holds examples of the data

collection process using children’s names. Each child has a ranking that he or she

receives from their peers. Individual peer rankings were recorded using the data

collection sheet, and these ranged between 1 and 5. The total row ranged from 33 – 165.

The minimum score per child is 3 (three cards x one point per card). The total column is

the sum of answers for all three questions. The maximum score per child is 15 (three

cards x five points per card). The total for each child was then calculated. This ranged

from 33 – 165. For statistical analysis, means were compared using a correlated t-test.


Friendship score. Individual peer rankings were recorded using the Grouping

Chart (Appendix H). Scores ranged from 16 to 80. Participants scores were totaled and

means were compared using a correlated t-test.


CHAPTER THREE

RESULTS

The present study examined the effect of Skillstreaming training on peer status

and social skills in preschool-age children. Participants received training on seven skills

over 14 days. Teachers and parents evaluated students using checklists. The checklists

measured social skills before and after training. To evaluate peer status, students ranked

their peers using a sociometric instrument. Researchers then used a correlated samples

design to determine significance, and they analyzed all three hypotheses by comparing

before and after group mean scores.

Hypothesis 1

“The Skillstreaming program is effective for children between three and four-

years of age” There was a significant increase in social skills scores after training M =

179.50 (11.91) than before M = 161.08 (14.19), t (12) = -4.61, p = .0002, d = 1.33 (see

table 1 and 2). Results showed a statistically significant increase in social skills after

training as measured by the Skillstreaming training checklist (see figure 1).

Hypothesis 2

“Children who receive Skillstreaming training will score higher on sociometric

status.” Participants scored significantly higher on sociometric status after training M =

139.50 (15.21) than before M = 130.42 (23.47), t (12) = -1.87, p = 0.015, d = 0.54 (see

table 1 and 2). Results show a statistically significant increase in the sociometric status of

participants (as rated by peers) after Skillstreaming training as measured by the

sociometric status instrument (see figure 2).


Hypothesis 3

“Those who receive Skillstreaming training will rate higher on ‘reading others.’”

There was a significant increase in the ‘reading others’ skill score after training M = 4.17

(.58) than before M = 3.63 (.68), t (12) = -3.463, p = 0.0008, d = 1.0 (see table 1 and 2).

Results showed a statistically significant increase on the ‘reading others’ metric after

Skillstreaming training. (See figure 3).


Social Skills Training

Figure 1.0 There was a significant increase in social skills

scores after training M = 179.50 (11.91) than before

M = 161.08 (14.19).


Peer Status

Figure 2.0 Participants scored significantly higher on

sociometric status after training M = 139.50 (15.21) than

before M = 130.42 (23.47).


Reading Others

Figure 3.0 There was a significant increase in the ‘reading

others’ skill score after training M = 4.17 (.58) than before

M = 3.63 (.68).


Table 1

Summary of Paired Samples t-Test Results

Before - After t p d

Social Skills Training (Hypothesis 1) -4.612 0.0002 1.3333

Peer Status (Hypothesis 2) -1.866 0.0148 0.5385

Reading Others (Hypothesis 3) -3.463 0.0008 0.9997


Table 2

Summary of Means and Standard Deviation of Hypotheses 1 - 3

n mean SD

Social Skills Training (Hypothesis 1) Before 12 161.083 14.189

After 12 179.500 11.912

Peer Status (Hypothesis 2) Before 12 130.416 23.465

After 12 139.500 15.210

Reading Others (Hypothesis 3) Before 11 3.625 0.678

After 12 4.166 0.577


CHAPTER FOUR

DISCUSSION

The present study investigated Skillstreaming as a means to teach social skills:

that, the Skillstreaming program is effective, that children who receive Skillstreaming

training will score higher on sociometric status, and those who receive Skillstreaming

training will rate higher on ‘reading others.’ Social skills include learned behaviors that

enhance individuals’ abilities to positively interact with others in their environment. To

avoid negative interactions with others, an individual needs to learn socially acceptable

behaviors. According to Elliott & Gresham (2008), “Socially acceptable and learned

forms of behavior that enable an individual to interact effectively with others and to avoid

or escape unacceptable behavior that results in negative social interactions with others.”

Hypothesis One

The Skillstreaming program is effective for children between three and four-years

of age. Adoption of these skills will enable individuals to interact with others in a more

adaptive manner. Results showed a statistically significant increase in social skills after

training as measured by the Skillstreaming training checklist.

Researchers conducted the investigation from the assumption that social skills

training will help students practice what they learn and thereby gain a better

understanding. This type of learning may be accomplished in school or at home. By

practicing in a safe environment, students may be more willing to express their feelings.

This can open avenues of verbal and non-verbal expression previously unavailable to

students. Children who learn social skills cope with behavior problems through

interacting with their peers or siblings. Thereby, new skills are acquired through


connections with others; alternatives to problems are passed from one child to the next.

Students can implement strategies to reduce aggression. The “dealing with teasing” skill

offers alternatives to problem behavior. By knowing what he or she should do, a child

can reduce the possibility of acting out. In this regard, social skills training is a preventive

factor against problem behavior.

New skill acquisition supports behaviors, like cooperation, and social skills

training may reduce undesired behaviors (Elias et al., 1997). Social skills help children

handle a variety of social situations, particularly through employing skills that help them

cope with difficult social positions, such as dealing with mistakes. Social skills affect not

only relationships with others but also the development of the interpersonal

characteristics. Students demonstrate these skills through listening skills and honesty.

Social skills contribute to self-esteem and confidence (McGinnis, 2012). For example,

when a child learns a new problem solving skill, they develop thinking skills and

generate alternative problem solving behaviors (McGinnis, 2012). Thus, they may learn

to anticipate consequences and improve social competence.

Social skill training benefits the preschool environment. Once children acquire

new skills, the burden on teachers to manage every social interaction in class may

decrease. This may work to improve the classroom atmosphere. After training, students

may be able to build relationships with teachers and adults with fewer difficulties.

Similarly, these skills increase students’ pre-academic readiness. For instance, in

acquiring new social skills, children learn many strategies that are useful for school

success, such as thinking aloud and retention. “Acceptable levels of mastery on selected


social skills have the potential to positively affect both academic performance and social

status” (Gresham, 2010, p. 340).

Social skill development affects the emotional lives of students (Gresham, 2010,

p. 338). Children may express behaviors inappropriately while under stress. By

implementing new social skills, children learn how they cope with stress. They often face

varied situations where they know what they want (“I want this to stop”) but do not know

how to advocate for their own interest. Social skills training provides children with an

appropriate means for dealing with complex situations. This can help avoid problem

situations. When children learn the “knowing when to tell” skill (which helps them

choose when to involve an adult in a problem), it may help them involve an adult sooner,

thus avoiding an emotionally salient situation.

Finally, social skills can improve the relationships between peers. They enhance

peer acceptance levels of social interaction. These skills play a role in friendship

development. As children gain social skills, they engage more easily in cooperative play.

When a child knows, and can implement, the simple steps to play with other children, this

leads to more active members in a group. This process is supported through skills which

improve students’ behaviors and understanding of the rules of play, like “waiting your

turn.” This has a positive effect on the peer status of children.

Hypotheses Two and Three

Skillstreaming training will influence rejected or ignored status. These children

will learn social skills and improve their social standing. After training, a previously

rejected child will get a higher score than before training. Thus, children who receive

Skillstreaming training will score higher on sociometric status. Results show a


statistically significant increase in the sociometric status of participants (as rated by

peers) after Skillstreaming training as measured by the sociometric status instrument.

Skillstreaming training will improve student’s interactions with their peers.

Training will improve skills related to play. During training, children will develop

temporary friendships. As a result, those who receive Skillstreaming training will rate

higher on ‘reading others.’ Results showed a statistically significant increase on the

‘reading others’ metric after Skillstreaming training.

During preschool, children begin to understand that many actions are incomplete

without others (e.g., cooperative playing). Learning to communicate effectively with

others by using a variety of attitudes is an adaptive skill that must be acquired at an early

age. “Children who are in the process of becoming friends are more likely to

communicate clearly, self-disclose more often, and resolve conflicts more effectively

than do children who do not become friends” (Rubin et al., 2005, p.480). Popular

children have high levels of social competence (Balda et al., 2005). They interact with

others by using verbal and non-verbal communication.

Researchers proceeded from the assumption that social skills training for students

who lack in popularity would increases the quality of student’s peer interactions. That by

practicing, students gain understanding; when children receive social skills training, their

social status score would improve. “Peer status and friendships are correlated, but their

differences are clearly seen in the fact that not all popular children have friends, and

many rejected children do” (Bagwell & Schmidt, 2013).

There are two forms of peer relationship, peer acceptance and friendships. Peer

acceptance levels amongst students and their peers increases good behaviors. These


children easily build relationships with classmates. Good peer relationships include

features of friendships such as trust, communication, and readiness to help others.

Friendships among peers play a role in a variety of domains which impact a child in

many ways. Children who have friends are more confident and are often more engaged in

school activities. Friendships enhance the perception about a student’s school. This may

increase the feeling of belonging to a school. Children who have friends are more

attached to their school and have more positive feelings associated with their school. As a

result, the school spends less time and money on problems like truancy.

Friendships assist children in the development of cooperative playing skills such

as sharing, turn taking, talking to peers, asking questions and responding to requests. This

contributes to the development of language and communication skills. Friendships

contribute to the academic development of students. When friends practice together or

work in a group, this encourages them to do their best. Friendships in childhood serve to

(a) provide support, self-esteem enhancement, and positive self-evaluation; (b) provide

emotional security; (c) provide affection and opportunities for intimate disclosure”

(Rubin et al., 2005, p.474).

The, “Reading others skill” is key in interpreting gestures, body language, and

other non-verbal communication. Understanding facial expressions helps in the

interpretation of feelings. The early development of this skill is critical because

understanding gestures from peers may help children better understand the intended

message. By improving this skill, children improve their interpretation of emotional and

social cues. Children recognize positive and negative emotions in others through regular

practice. Teachers and parents use this skill to help children interpret gestures on behalf


of their peers. For example, a teacher can interpret some gestures for children by using

modeling. This interaction will enhance relationships among students and support the

development of children's friendships.

Peer relationships are a protective factor for successful social adaptation. This is

accomplished by reducing negative behaviors. These behaviors are often the result of a

rejected status (e.g., aggression, social withdrawal). If a child feels rejected, this may

present as emotional problems like loneliness or avoidance of social situations. “Children

who were rejected by peers developed less favorable school attitudes and were more

likely to avoid school and to have poor school performance over the school year” (Lee,

2007, p.20). Difficulty in building friendships may cause long-term social dissatisfaction.

This is predictive of later life problems. Dropping out of school, social

withdrawal, or other school maladjustments may be signs of early social rejection.

Overcoming these effects will appear as social competence. Thus, students who are more

popular have higher self-esteem than students who do not have friends or who have a

rejected status. Development of social skills demonstrates a student’s development in the

ability to understand others, their emotions, and behaviors.

Limitations:

Some limitations include limited sample size and a homogeneous group (that is,

they are all from the same town, school, and mostly the same language/ethnicity).

Because of this, the results may not be generalizable outside of middle America.

This research used a small sample based primarily on availability. Given a larger

sample, a more thorough statistical analysis could be conducted. Participants formed a

homogeneous group. That is, the sample of participants is from the same town and


school. They all spoke the same language and were of Caucasian decent. They were from

educated families where the parents are faculty or students. Because of this, participants

may have been more receptive to learning new skills. Also, students were unfamiliar with

the researcher. They may have responded differently to a teacher instead of a stranger.

Limitations of instrumentation also exist. The sociometric instrument is a novel

device designed specifically for this study. Thus, it lacks extensive validation.

For treatment integrity, the Skillstreaming program has a built-in transfer of

training approach to assist schools in coordinating efforts with parents, (e.g., McGinnis,

2012, pp 273-297). By sharing notes about how children practice the skills that they have

learned at school in other contexts, skills are likely to be learned more rapidly.

Direction for future researchers:

The effect of the Skillstreaming program on social skills and socialization

deserves continuing study. The nascent understanding of the process of socialization in

preschoolers should be considered. Upon replication, future researchers could take into

consideration some additional issues not covered in this study. There may be different

results if participants come from a larger, more representative, sample. One may try to

include greater diversity in participants. Also, gender differences could be examined.

Lastly, one could conduct a longitudinal study to examine the efficacy of the skills taught

by the Skillstreaming method over time.


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APPENDICES


Appendix A - Consent Form for Parents

INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT

The Department of Psychology at Emporia State University supports the practice of

protection for human subjects participating in research and related activities. The

following information is provided so that you can decide whether you wish to participate

in the present study. You should be aware that even if you agree to participate, you are

free to withdraw at any time, and that if you do withdraw from the study, you will not be

subjected to reprimand or any other form of reproach. Likewise, if you choose not to

participate, you will not be subjected to reprimand or any other form of reproach.

The purpose of this study is to improve social skills for students who have a lack of

specific social skills and change their peer status. This study will use a checklist for the

parents. This research will depend on book by McGinnis which is Skillstreaming in Early

Childhood. The training will include some lessons for teaching children who need to

improve their social skills. At the time of training, the student will meet five times a week

for four weeks, and the length of each lesson is approximately 15 minutes. After four

weeks parents will be asked again to use the same checklists for the Skillstreaming

Program.

The benefits to be expected are that the children who participate in social skill

training usually have improved social skills. Most children who are participants in this

training enjoy it. The data taken would help the teachers know which children need extra

social help. Getting information from children that could give them positive social skills

practice that can lead to social skills improvement.

There is no any harm for your child, and your child will receive social skills training

except he or she will not receive a program as regular class in preschool in session

period. The data taken on the children will not have the names of the children but each

child will have a code instead of a name. The individuals’ data will not be reported on

publication, only group results.

"I have read the above statement and have been fully advised of the procedures to be used

in this project. I have been given sufficient opportunity to ask any questions I had

concerning the procedures and possible risks involved. I understand the potential risks

involved and I assume them voluntarily. I likewise understand that I can withdraw from

the study at any time without being subjected to reproach."

Feel free to contact me at my email address if you have any questions.

Leliyan Hammo

[email protected]

____________________________________ ___________________________

Subject Date

____________________________ ___________________________

Parent or Guardian (if subject is a minor) Date


Appendix B -Consent Form for Teachers

INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENT

The Department of Psychology at Emporia State University supports the practice of

protection for human subjects participating in research and related activities. The

following information is provided so that you can decide whether you wish to participate

in the present study. You should be aware that even if you agree to participate, you are

free to withdraw at any time, and that if you do withdraw from the study, you will not be

subjected to reprimand or any other form of reproach. Likewise, if you choose not to

participate, you will not be subjected to reprimand or any other form of reproach.

The purpose of this study is to improve social skills of students who have a lack of

specific social skills and change the peer status. This study will use a checklist for

teachers. This research will depend on a book by McGinnis which is Skillstreaming in

Early Childhood. The training will be some lessons for teaching children who need to

improve their social skills. At the time of training, the student will meet five times a week

for four weeks, and the length of each lesson is approximately 15 minutes. After four

weeks parents will be asked again to use same checklists for the Skillstreaming Program.

The benefits to be expected are that children who participate in social skill training will

improve and get better form peer statues and get social skills. The main goals are that

have a better understanding of social skills and that will expected effect on children for

dealing with peers and adults.

Due of the purpose of this study is that getting information from children that could give

positive social skills practice that can lead to social skills improvement. "I have read the

above statement and have been fully advised of the procedures to be used in this project. I

have been given sufficient opportunity to ask any questions I had concerning the

procedures and possible risks involved. I understand the potential risks involved and I

assume them voluntarily. I likewise understand that I can withdraw from the study at any

time without being subjected to reproach."

Feel free to contract me at my email address if you have any questions.

Leliyan Hammo

[email protected]

____________________________________ ___________________________

Subject Date

____________________________ ___________________________

Teacher’s name Date


Appendix C - Skillstreaming Checklists Parents






Appendix D - Skillstreaming Checklists Teachers






Appendix E - An Instrument for Children’s Peers - Faces Scales


Appendix F - An Instrument for Children’s Peers - Data Collection Sheet

Name of a Child _____________

Summary Form

John Susie Ted Mary Bob Jim Aaron Erin Sam Total

John -

Susie -

Ted -

Mary -

Bob -

Jim -

Aaron -

Erin -

Sam -

List of his or

her peer’s

name

How would

you feel if you

play with this

child?

How would you

feel if this child

came to your

birthday?

How would you

feel if this child

spent the night

in your house?

Total


Appendix G - Samples of Skillstreaming in Early Childhood Skills Cards


Appendix H- Grouping Chart

GROUP I: Beginning Social Skills

1. Listening

2. Using Nice Talk

3. Using Brave Talk

4. Saying Thank You

5. Rewarding Yourself

6. Asking for Help

7. Asking a Favor

8. Ignoring

GROUP II: School-Related Skills

9. Asking a Question

10. Following Directions

11. Trying When It’s Hard

12. Interrupting

GROUP III: Friendship-Making Skills

13. Greeting Others

14. Reading Others

15. Joining In

16. Waiting Your Turn

17. Sharing

18. Offering Help

19. Asking Someone to Play

20. Playing a Game

GROUP IV: Dealing with Feelings


21. Knowing Your Feelings

22. Feeling Left Out

23. Asking to Talk

24. Dealing with Fear

25. Deciding How Someone Feels

26. Showing Affection

22. Feeling Left Out

23. Asking to Talk

24. Dealing with Fear

25. Deciding How Someone Feels

26. Showing Affection

GROUP V:Alternatives to Aggression

27. Dealing with Teasing

28. Dealing with Feeling Mad

29. Deciding If It’s Fair

30. Solving a Problem

31. Accepting Consequences

GROUP VI: Dealing with Stress

32. Relaxing

33. Dealing with Mistakes

34. Being Honest

35. Knowing When to Tell

36. Dealing with Losing

37. Wanting to Be First

38. Saying No

39. Accepting No

40. Deciding What to Do


I, Leliyan Radhwan Salim, hereby submit this thesis to Emporia State University

as partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree. I agree that the Library

of the University may make it available for use in accordance with its regulations

governing materials of this type. I further agree that quoting, photocopying, or other

reproduction of this document is allowed for private study, scholarship (including

teaching) and research purposes of a nonprofit nature. No copying which involves

potential financial gain will be allowed without written permission of the author.

________________________________________

Signature of Author

________________________________________

Date

THE EFFECT OF SKILLSTREAMING TRAINING ON PEER STATUS AND

SOCIAL SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL

________________________________________

Signature of Graduate Office

Staff Member

________________________________________

Date Received

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